February 13, 2016 Dear Old Trail School Community, As partners with Educators’ Collaborative, we are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Search Committee and the Board of Directors to help identify the next Head of School at Old Trail School. The primary objective in this task is to help the school find the individual who represents the “best fit” to provide the leadership OTS needs in the coming years upon the conclusion of John Farber’s tenure in June 2017. Every school is different, and our most important initial responsibility has been to find out what differentiates Old Trail. Beyond its readily identifiable characteristics (location, size, student age range, campus facilities, etc.), what truly makes a school distinctive is its unique culture. How have we tried to get a sense of the culture at Old Trail? During our visit to the school on January 11th and 12th, we met with faculty, staff, administrators, parents, students, and trustees in group and one-on-one sessions and tried to listen very carefully to how they described the school and what they hoped for in future leadership. We have also collected and read much of the school’s literature and its statistical information. Furthermore, very helpful information has been provided by the responses to the on-line constituent survey. Of note, 258 surveys were completed – a very impressive number for a school of Old Trail’s size. Foremost in the picture we have developed about Old Trail is the remarkable sense of community existing at the school. This communal sense is enhanced by the deep commitment of the faculty and staff who work with the children, the exceptional level of parent involvement, and the close-knit partnership of these groups. Now, by their nature, independent schools are generally successful at community building, but we see lots of schools, and this aspect of Old Trail’s culture is at a level beyond what we usually see. This should not be taken for granted. In an era in which “school excellence” is too often measured solely by standardized test results and when social media has altered the way we interact, there is much to be said for the value added of belongingness at that place where parents entrust their children to the work of other adults. Among other qualities that truly stand out about Old Trail is the way it balances a spirit of innovation with a commitment to its history and traditions. We were also highly impressed by the breadth and depth of the school’s program offerings - academic and otherwise - that enable students to discover and advance their personal strengths. Another distinctive feature of the school is that its commitment to the environment and its sustainability initiatives mesh so well with its unmatched natural surroundings in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. These and other attributes are terrific “selling points” for the School that will make the Head of School opportunity an attractive one for candidates. Over the coming months our primary job as search consultants is to build the pool of candidates and then work with the Search Committee to narrow that pool to the ultimate appointee as Head of School-elect. Some candidates will come forward on their own in response to postings about this opening. Others will come from our outreach to individuals known to us and our Educators’ Collaborative colleagues or through referrals from Heads of Schools, Executive Directors of regional associations, and our many other contacts. We will take time to get to know all qualified candidates by interviewing them in person or via Skype, and we will speak with their references. That pool of candidates has started to build already, and we are very pleased by the quality of the men and women who have expressed initial interest. During this time of building the candidate pool, we will be very active, but most of our work will be behind-the-scenes and not visible to those on campus. The primary reason for this is to protect the confidentiality of candidates, who may wish to explore this opportunity without having it widely known at their current places of employment. Our ability to protect this confidentiality enables us to build a more robust candidate pool. The search process will again become visible, and highly active, at such time (likely in September or October) as the Search Committee identifies a small group of finalists, each of whom will spend two days on campus to meet and be met by members of those same constituencies who helped inform us about Old Trail. All those who meet the finalists will have the opportunity to offer their feedback, which we will collect and present to the Search Committee. Although we are excited about the opportunity to assist Old Trail School and about the early development of the candidate pool, it is perhaps appropriate to close with two cautionary notes. Although some aspects of the search process are inclusive in nature, the ultimate choice of the next Head of School lies with the Board of Directors after receiving a recommendation from the Search Committee. In addition, while there is every indication that the candidate pool will be strong, there will be no perfect candidate. In the end, the man or woman selected as the next Head of School will be the one from among a group of individuals with various experiences and personal qualities who is deemed the “best fit” to lead Old Trail in the years ahead. John M. Mackenzie and Jean G. Lamont February 13, 2016